BIT2K Reunion - Pittsburgh, 25th June 2006

6 years is a long time, but this reunion it never felt like so.

Have to say a moment to remember :)
Here's the day as it passed.

On the way to Pittsburgh, at the Pennsylvania State border. Early morning 7:00 AM.

Thats Rishi with me, 5 years on he resembles Anurag Verma 'Thakela'; of course minus the mooche ;)

Urs truly in a striking pose with authentic fake smile :)

Boom Boom Bang, 10 minutes into the game and Germany is already 2-0 up with the game as good as over. Time to move, everyone is damn hungry after the nights drive. Here we are at the Udipi, Avinash and Utti in front, Rishi in his typical Thakela mode (Did u notice the way he rests his chin on his hand; the typical ever-so-thoughtful pose). sumit singhal is chewing his nails, he is good at chewing other things as well. Description abt others in the party to follow.

Chul, Sips and Surd in front.

Singhal trying the AV pose, give it up man, that pose is Rishi's copyright.

Sardar aur uske funde.

Utti came from his galfrds house after watching Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and is still having a SRK hangover ("I luv U, BBBBBBB BITIANS"). I thought after a solid meal at Udipi, Nagarjuna style (even better if Ballaya style) wld have made more sense.

Utti and Sardar in front of the famous Pittsburgh Temple.

Banana Brothers, Thats sardar grinning on seeing the banana, u can call that the Banana Effect.

Anupam 'oori saala' Choubey in his Rajnikanth get up.

Chulbaaz trying his hand on 'Oori Saala' style. But thrs no comparison, Chobs the man when it comes to black goggles.

With a cigerrate in his hand, sardar finally felt like a man,
Before that what he was feeling like is anybody's guess.

Dewani and Sardar,
BTW stripes was in for the day.

U either get 'STRIPPED' or u wear BLUE

Relak-singh at the Starbucks; myself doing matthapacchi with sardar.

Sumit trying a new pissed-off look.

THE GANG

So who is the bigger Chaman

Dono takkar ke hain, C how happy they are to be called Chaman.

On the way to the riverfront.

Miya, Biwi aur Sardar

Chaddidhaari 'Men in Blue'

2 S

Thats 2 Ses getting cosy ;)

At the riverfront

Here's everone taking everyone else's, I mean Photograph

An evening on river Ohio

Mr. and Mrs. Sips

Utti, (dont u think a M in front of Utti wld have made it better ;)

Thats the way Anurag Verma Sir was in his jawani...

A Surd with a broken tooth (Last heard, that broken tooth is the result of one of the several belans Sardar has dealt with after marriage)

A beautiful evening.

Notice the striking similarity in the pose, Now thats what we call a well reharsed pose.

Singhal & Rishi

Here's once again 'Chin-on-hand' pose of the one and only Rishi 'Anurag' Verma.
Finally Sips gets some time away frm Mrs. Sips. She normally doesnt like when Sips shares the frame with others.

And finally we have the initiator of the whole idea, Sumit Singhal, the future CEO and owner of Siemens.

BTW for those who thought that Geet Talkies case is over, here's Chulbaaz being interrogated by Pittsburgh Police; Chulbaaz is the real International Khiladi.

And it required a lot of effort from Rishi (bechara kitna thak gaya tha is ke chalte) and Choubey and his goggles (that chul was wearing) that saved Chul from being roughed up by the police.

Chobs with Surd

As the beautiful evening was nearing its end, we decided to call Tikki. Vishal 'Tikki' Jaiswal was in Oregon and it doesnt seem like he has changed much. BTW he got married, which is good sign for all the bachelors in the batch (whtever lil' are left), for if Tikks can get married anyone can ;)

Pittsburgh Downtown from Mt. Washington

Once more

Myself, Sardar and Chul

That's earlier from the day.
Utti's SRK pose continue and Dewani looks bemused.

No Comments

Let's Dance baby.

That was Chob's obsession of the day.
'Oori saala, kya kutto type kutta hai'

Pittsburgh downtown from Choubey's Camera, waise isme Camera ka koi dosh nahi hai, Chobs was trying his hand on modern photography.

That's Singhal with the killer pose.

Now some group pics...

One more

Yet Another one

And one more

........

Well one more

And here's bringing the house down.

This BIT Reunion was a great experience to say the least, I'm sure everyone took back with them some nice memories and of course refreshed some of the most beautiful moments of the past.
Here's to BIT and BITians,
Hip Hip Hooray

My Typical Girl

I'm not at ease
When you talk childish
My typical girl.
When your face is weighed
under the thickest of layers
and you come across as a
vocal artifact,
with no sadness in your sad
and the ways you celebrate
your joys is a disgrace.
Annoyance holds to ransom
your identity
that swims along effortlessly
in the sea of fake,
Guided by your guided emotions
you drift along unconciously
without even thinking
that your real
has long been dormant,
But you're still admant
to shrug off the images.
Have to say
When you behave this way
You are irritating and nettling to say the least
My typical girl.

27th April : In memory of

As I turned around to look at it
I hurt my back
27th April came and went
nobody seem to understand
Not even the ones who should have
for its just another day
It passed like the days pass
mixed with the sand in the hour glass.
In between the pasts and this present
few worlds have undergone a change
Over there someone cried and someone laughed
but then and now have fallen apart.
Now someone sulks and trips over the pen
scribes the verses all in vain
On the other end what happens who knows,
hope its the laughter that just flows,
all's at ease and enjoying the peace
like 27th April never exist.
I know
its because this is just the second time
this feeling will dilute with time,
everyone will feel alright then,
even I wont care
when 27th April came and went.

Remembering the BIT Canteen

This piece of info is taken from BIT alumni site and was written by Amitabh Mishra Sir :)


Bahut saalon pehle ki baat hai. Tab BIT (aur Bhilai House) ki boundary wall keval 3 ft. oonchi thi. (How convenient, na!). Andar campus mein koi Canteen Shanteen nahin thi. Campus ke theek bahar 2 tapre the - Ek Bhau ka, aur ek thela tha Chachi ka - both located on the extreme ends of the same boundary wall, by the ever dry canal.

Bhau has consistently been in the same business, running profits, catering to the same strata of customers with services that deserve an ISO certificate for consistency. His prime product was tea, but he was also into paan-cigarette. And, by the time we became his customers, he had already diversified into bread-omlette too. BTW, his son is completing his MBA from BIT this year. And still, on occassions, mostly when when all canteens in BIT are closed or when some batchmate of mine visits BIT, I get an opportunity to go nostalgic along with the usual combo of tea-bread-omlette at Bhau's. Ab toh yeh kuchh logon ko aashcharya aur atpata bhi lagta hai ki - "SIR!!! Aur yahaan...!!!!

Par kya karein, once a BITian, always a BITian.

Doosra thela tha Chachi ka, jaisa ki main ne bataya. Sahuji and his wife, our Chachi would come together in the morning. Sahuji would get along with his paan-beedi business and Chachi would make tea. Just TEA. No bread-omlette, nothing else. The tea would be fresh and great, unlike at Bhau's where tea was mostly used as an aid to gulp down the bread-omlette combo. It was the tea, for which we used to visit her. The fact remains that she was christened as "CHACHI" by us, the first batch of BIT.
Somehow we never could bring ourselves to call Sahuji as 'Chacha' and to this date we call him that way only. But, his wife was our Chachi - woh Chachi jiski chai peekar hum log Engineer bane. Today she is no more, but all First generation BITians remember her fondly. May her soul rest in eternal peace. In fact, Sahuji got the contract of BIT canteen soully on the goodwill acquired by Chachi.

Lok Paritran

Not many are aware of the party callled "LOK PARITRAN". It is a National Party registered since Sep-05 by 4 IITians and it is now in the process of contesting elections in Chennai for the May State Elections.

Since we see them to be a Ray of Hope off the Blue!! We request one and all to forward the message across on exsistence of such a party and they in turn should carry on the message to whomsoever they know.

We have scheduled a meeting on Sunday 9th April 06 at the K.N shanmugha Sundaram Hall in Mylapore near Nageshwara Park..

We request you all to pass on the message and as far as possible thro the electronic mail.

Lets all make sure that this mail reaches all and need like minded people with a vision to give something back to the society in which we live.

For more information you can log in to the website:
www.lokparitran.org

In person you can contact:

Hema - 9840239669
Srinivas - 9840338546
Badri - 9840719686
Indiresh - 9884487755

Chelsea Parody

This one is a famous Jose Murinho parody that has now acquired pretty much status of a classic.
I'll try to post the mp3 link sometime, for now here are the lyrics

----------------------------

I Sign a Little Player or Two is the follow-up to the José and his Amazing Technicolor Overcoat sketch on Today FM's Gift Grub show. It parodies the Chelsea manager José Mourinho and the Aretha Franklin song I Say a Little Prayer. It is performed by Mario Rosenstock.

Do you know some people will like to know
Why are we so successful
And why always that we are winning
And why also they are saying all the time that I am the special one
Well I also have song for this.


[Verse 1]
The moment I wake up (Damien, wake up),
Before I crack open my egg cup (Damien[1]: egg cup),
I sign a little player or two.

While combing my hair now (yes, very nice),
And wondering what coat to wear now (Damien: wear now),
I sign a little player or two.


[Chorus]
Because - forever, forever,
They will stay in my heart and I will love them all.
And whatever - perhaps never,
May be some will not start, it's possible.
But - together, together,
That's how we will be completely, I'm sorry.
And that's how it must be at Chelsea
Believe me, I know these things.


Okay?


[Verse 2]
While eating my sandwich (very tasty),
I call Roman Abramovich (Damien: ovich),
Sign a little player or two (okay?).

And if he doesn't work hard,
I'll probably tell Frank Lampard (Damien: Lampard),
We'll sign another player or two.


[Chorus]


Damien: Yeah but,
Well?
Damien: What about me?
Well Duff uh - believe me, believe me (believe me).
Damien: What?
For me there is no other winger but you.
Damien: Really?
Yes, this is true.
Damien: Wow, that's great.
Please love me too.
Damien: Okay,
'Cause I'm in love with you.
Damien: Pretty good.
Now kill yourself,
Damien: Huh?
Do it, do it.
Damien: What? Eh, okay.

The art of Sari wrapping :)

click on the image for enlarged version

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Khayalon mein kisi ke

Some songs just grow on you, some just gain in meaning with passage of time. Old is no wonder gold. Days after searching for this one, now that I finally have it, its two days and yet there's no end to this lovely hangover.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(khayaalon mein kisi ke, is tarah aaya nahi karte

kisi ko bewafaa aa aa ke tadpaaya nahi karte )-2

dilon ko raund kar dil apana bahalaaya nahi karte

jo thukaraae gae hon unko thukaraaya nahi karte,dilon ko raund kar

(hansi phoolon ki do din chaandni bhi chaar din ki hai

chaandni chaar din ki hai )-2

mili ho chaand si surat to itraaya nahi karte

kisi ko bewafaa aa aa ke tadpaaya nahi karte,khayaalon mein kisi ke

(jinhen mitna ho vo mitne se dar jaaya nahi karte

vo dar jaaya nahi karte )-2

mohabbat karne wale gam se ghabaraaya nahi karte

kisi ko bewafaa aa aa ke tadapaaya nahi karte, khayaalon mein kisi ke

(mohabbat ka sabak siikho, ye jaakar jalanewalon se

ye jaakar jalanewalon se )-2

ke dil ki baat bhi lab tak kabhi laaya nahi karte

jo thukaraae gae hon unko thukaraaya nahi karte

khayaalon mein kisi ke, is tarah aaya nahi karte

kisi ko bewafaa aa aa ke tadapaaya nahi karte, khayaalon mein kisi ke
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Geeta Dutt and Mukesh from Baawre Nain
Listen to this song at
http://gayaki.com/songs-of-Baawre-Nain.html

Serials on Doordarshan

• Saptahiki

Saptahiki was a weekly program that introduced the viewers to the interesting programs in the week ahead. The most interesting and eagerly awaited part of the program was ofcourse the announcement of the sunday evening movie. I think the program might still be on :)

• World of Sports

Remember Major Ahluwalia doing the equesterian rounds over Chetak or whatever the name of his horse was, or Mohan Bagan battling it out with East Bengal with Babu Mani, Krishanu Dey squaring it against Tushar Rakshit and company. And of course there were our own foreign imports in Cheema Okerie and Chibuzar. Remember 4:00 PM Sundays, just before the eagerly awaited evening movie.

• Himalaya Darshan

Himalaya Darshan was my favourite serial. In those days most serials were given a 13 episode slot. Only a handful like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Hum Log, Buniyaad were given bulk slots. Himalaya Darshan was also a 13 episode serial, however it essentially turned out to be of 39 episodes. The first run of 13 episodes dealt with the Western Himalayas, with stories from the Kashmir, Ladhakh and higher up and west. Of the various stories the one I easily recall involved a film crew going on an expedition about the mysterious Snowman 'Yeti' and what happens when they finally see one. The second run of this exciting serial was based in the Central Himalayas. In one of the best episodes, a man while looking for his herd of sheeps ventures deep into the Kailash-Mansarovar territory. The man does not believe in god and ends up meeting Lord Shankar in disguise. The fellow accompanies lord Shankar to mount Kailash and spends 7 days with him. Finally after seven days when he returns back to his village, he realizes that its not 7 days but 700 years that have passed.
In yet another brilliant episode, Rama Vij's car breaks down near a Buddhist monestary and the monks does not allow her inside the monestary as women are not allowed there. What follows in short is that Rama Vij while sleeping in her car sees an old monk who later as we find out died long ago. Later in the morning, the monks tell her about the prevelant legend that the spiritual guru who founded this monestary still roams around and can be viewed only by the purest of souls.
The last run of this serial covered the Eastern Himlayas. I recall a story about the legendary tale of tracing the complete course of river Brahmaputra. A brilliant episode that told the story of the legendary character of 'Pundit' who seemingly was the first person to locate the source of the river, how the mystery of Tsangpo and Brahmaputra was solved and more.
Himalaya Darshan was perhaps the start of my fascination for the Himalayas, a fascination that over the times have grown more and more.

• Chitrahaar (Wed and Fri)
• Katha Sagar
• Gul Gulshan Gulfaam
• Kile Ka Rahasya
• Karamchand
• Police File Se
• Gopichand Jasoos
• Fatichar
• Daane Anaar Ke

Daane Anar Ke reminds one of all good things Doordarshan was. Shailendra and Nina Gupta as the start lead, Gulzar's beautiful 'Kissa hai kahani hai paheli hai, Zindagi yeh moosa ki saheli hai' as the title song with Vishal (Yes Vishal) doing the music. This incidentally was first song from the Gulzar-Vishal combo, that in times to come gave us gems like 'Goli maar bheje mein', 'sapne mein milti hai' among various others. The highlight though was the brilliantly written script by none other than great Sharad Joshi, the king of hindi humour. No matter the serial caught the fancy of people all over the country and still remains one of the most loved serial of all time. BTW the serial also starred Ajit Vacchani.

• Guniram

'Guniram Bhai Guniram, aa pahunche bumbai dham', I hope people remember the title track that pretty much summed the theme of the serial. Guniram played by Rakesh Bedi is a village simpleton who comes to Bombay (it was still bombay those days) and keeps on falling in one comical situation or the other. A decent comedy.

• Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi
• Gayab Aaya
• Super Six
• Ek Do Teen Char
• Rangoli
• Ramayana
• Mahabharata
• Uttar Ramayana
• Vishwamitra
• Shri Krishna
• Chanakaya
• Shrikant
• Vikram Betaal
• Simhasan Batissi
• Chandrakanta
• Humlog
• Buniyaad
• Dusra Kewal
• Tamas
• Chunni
• Saanjha Choolha
• Muzrim Haazir Hai
• Chunauti
• Circus
• Fauji
• Dada Dadi Ki Kahaniyan
• Byomkesh Bakshi
• Potli Baba Ki
• Jungle Book
• Aamne Saamne
• Baaton Baaton Mein
• Mr. Yogi
• Trishna
• Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne
• Wagle Ki Duniya
• Khel Khel Mein
• Malgudi Days
• Honee Anhonee
• The Sword of Tipu Sultan
• Shanti
• Swabhimaan
• Ji Matriji
• Kakka Ji Kahin
• Surabhi
• Bharat Ek Khoj
• Stone Boy
• World This Week
• Flop Show
• Giant Robot
• DD's Comedy Show
• Spiderman
• Nukkad
• Yatra
• Manoranjan
• Show Time
• Quiz Time
• Prashan Manch
• Indradhanush
• Zigma
• Udaan
• Rajani
• Sukanya
• Tehkikaat
• Reporter
• Dekh Bhai Dekh
• Junoon
• Shrimaan Shrimati
• Khandaan
• Mriganayani
• Aa Bail Mujhe Maar
• Farmaan
• Ulta Pulta
• Ados Pados
• He Man
• Ek Kahani
• Afsane
• Street Hawk
• Tele Match
• The Old Fox
• Froggle Rock
• Idhar Udhar
• Kab Tak Pukaaroon
• Mirza Ghalib
• Bahadur Shah Zafar
• Zamana Badal Gaya
• Dard
• Kashish
• Hum Hindustani
• Some series where Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath gave Cricket tips
• A Mouthful Of Sky
• Chayyageet
• Param Veer Chakra
• Hello Zindagi
• Tenali Rama
• Neev
• Aakhri Daav
• Karwa Sach
• Prahari
• Turning Point
• Aisa Bhi Hota Hai
• Darpan
• Dil Darya
• Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan
• Kahan Gaye Woh Log
• Udaan
• Chapte Chapte
• Choti Badi Baatein
• Charitraheen
• Wah Janaab
• Subah
• Kya Banoge Munna
• Itihaas
• Alif Laila
  
• Nirmala
• Intezaar
  

About Time

Counting time and holding spaces

drawing needles on empty faces
From dusk till the dawn
to the eras bygone
In the books of the mediveal
myths and mystics
todays are starting to look like antiques
The theories of finding,
sense and essence
it takes ages to pass through conscience
Of lost truths and buried lies
doubts that none nullifies
We travel back and forth again
crushed in the burden of our pain
and at the gates where all journeys end
lies the time, bored of routine
It stands still silently and waits
for one more journey to initiate.

Lost Song of the Winter

She was just whistling along

& I knew she wont continue for long
Cos' the winter is coming
and the time is running
So i gave her something to eat
She wondered and moved back her feet
and when I joined in
She didn't took it with pleasure
but I didn't stop whistling her song
I thought why should I care
Cos' the winter is coming
and the time is running
Soon there'll be white
all days and night
The window sill will remain empty
Till my Whistling Thrush returns in the coming spring.

A Swan Song Never Sung (For Sourav Ganguly)

If it was only a game

I could have played my part
But nights and no days
when no light passed
I realised
Game's over a little too soon
A shining moon of the past
A vicious ploy's victim at last
May be I'll fight and settle the score
May be my pain will grow a little more
Who knows what
but as of now
I stand alone, victimized.
Justice is a notion
good as a word,
No one speaks of it
like no one does for you
Cos' no one cares
Whether you are part of the game
or a victim of it.

Simple Today

Lazy afternoons and warm mornings
Life's limited to simple cravings
Music to soothe the soul
Books to lift your mood
Days can be cruel and complex sometimes
But this simple today is just too good.

Death Of A Clock

The Final Time
The only needle of the clock at the wall
Moved slowly like the pendulum swings
Making a sorrowful face
As if fighting a lone battle
in a race against time
There were no numbers to cheer things up
and no glass mask
covering its dust filled face
It was slow and painful
a mourning, tick tocking heartbeat
knowing the imminent
& yet waiting
for that last tick
before the fall.

Last Rites
I picked the pieces in the morning
and hurried them in a bag
To be thrown down the trash chute
The mortuary of the needless and neglected.

Paritrana - The discussions

www.paritrana.org

REPLY TO POOJA'S MAIL ABOUT PARITRANA AND RELATED ARTICLE IN TOI

times of india, well I stopped long back believing in them and thr news but then they have this website as well.
The website dont say much, would have been great to lean about thr ideology which is still not up on the site. President, vice president and treasurer all sport a sort of a freedom fighter kinda look, dont know if thats intentional or just part of thr personality.
Too early to say anything in terms of believing or not specially when u r so far away from India. Anyways, if the intentions r right, hope they get the desired success.

CORRECTION TO EARLIER MAIL

My bad, they have thr ideology page up, must say they choose thr words well.

VIEWS ON PARITRANA

Pooja's mail reminded me of a blog entry that I read sometime back. I am putting the same below. It has nothing to do with doing somethg for the contry's sake but one common thread that runs through the two stories is that people are willing to take the risk. They r willing to explore thr true worth, they want to do wht they feel will make them happier. There's a confidence in their decision, of course thrs risk involved but no new path is treaded without a sense of risk, its just that the achievers are the ones who dont let these fear of risk prevail.
Paritrana evokes a sense of doubt in me perhaps bcos our political system is so much corrupted that one tends to be distrust even the best of intentions. Is this a true news, does it have the right intentions or its just another way of tricking the already troubled youth. But I dont want to skeptical as well, so lets hope that someone has really initiated a movement which hoepfully will realise the goodies it promises of.


This is what IIM A grad Sidin Vadukut had to say about his decision on his blog:

Dear All,
Finally after weeks of contemplation and thought and watching Friends reruns I have decided to finally do it. A few days from now I will cease to be a consultant. Instead I will be a writer.

As we speak an email is hurtling its way across the nation to my HR and MD indicating my imminent departure from AT Kearney. From next Friday I will be a free bird and will immediately embark on a book, freelancing, columning and anything else I can force people to hire my writing skills for.

The reasons are numerous. But in the end I decided I needed to do what I was happiest doing...

For the amazingly talented guy who penned the now-classic Travails of Single South Indian Men writing is that source of happiness.

MAIL TO BIT GROUP

A bit of surfing revealed that the guys r really ex IITians.
though i'm not sure if they will do great as politicains or not, i think its a decision worth applauding. Of course to do that we need to get over the cloud of doubt our present political system has created in our minds, cos every such effort no matter how true it is to its cause, is always viewed with skeptism.

An Autumn's Tale (Autumn In My Heart)

She liked to walk along the ocean
Often singing her song aloud
She used to tell me, of her life and love
And it was me they were all about
She talked
and I listened
When we walked
along the ocean

We knew the invetiable
So we waited for the moment
And then came the day
We were having our walk
With her on my back
When she closed her eyes
and died
While we walked
She didn't replied
While I talked
Not even yes or no
No emotions to show
But I continued my walk
By the shore
With her on my back
Like we used to before
Thought she listened to me
As into the ocean I walked wishpering
'I love you', 'I love you'
The song that she used to sing.

A Love So Platonic Still Exists

Afraid of shadows of happiness,

Lying on my bed,
Scratching pillows with its nail,
Looking for some blood,
Concealing her beastly face,
Your sadness hungers for a life.
And it still has a chance
cos' I never burned that picture,
The one that now lies buried
In the thick dust of happiness.
You want the things changed,
You want the roles reversed,
I doubt, but may be you do.
Well, now that this thought has occurred
I'll wipe away the dust,
I'll lie down on the nails
and embrace your sadness
So that you can sing
"A Love So Platonic Still Exists".

Infatuated

A Winter's Morning

The Cold wind rushes past.
Standing at the window,
With my eyes weary of the night's dream,
I wander into illusion.
Far beyond the horizon
where the blue shades paler
off my mind
and a sublime peace takes over
covered in the warmth of white.
Back after a while,
the morning struggles to break away
from the clutches of the clumsy night.
With all the might
finally somewhere far
there appears the first ray of light.
Golden orange, soothing warm,
It'll be yet another day soon
A beautiful day.